Introducing a New, SURPRISE Member: Amie Kaufman!

Guys, we are so, so, so thrilled to introduce you to a new member. It was a sort of spur-of-the-moment decision—though one we all agreed on—and that decision was to welcome a new author to our ranks:

Amie Kaufman!

Amie Kaufman had the good fortune to be raised just one block from her local library, and took full advantage of that fact growing up. She and her sister spent their childhood summers re-creating their favorite books by camping in the back yard, mapping their neighborhood, climbing trees, stepping through magical doors and sailing the local seas. Raised in Australia and Ireland, she has kissed the Blarney stone six times, thoroughly cementing her gift of the gab. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband Brendan and her rescue dog, Jack. She still sails, and though she climbs fewer trees, she remains partial to investigating the occasional magical door. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or on her blog. Her debut novel, Wrecked (co-authored with Meagan Spooner) will be out from Disney-Hyperion in 2013.

Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen never should have met. She’s the socialite daughter of the richest man in the galaxy, and he’s a decorated soldier fighting back rebellions on newly terraformed planets. But when the vast luxury spaceliner they’re both traveling on crashes, they find themselves thrown together as the two sole survivors on an alien planet.

As they survive harsh conditions and dwindling supplies—not to mention each other—the two begin to uncover a mystery surrounding the abandoned planet that neither of them could have guessed.

The first in a trilogy, Wrecked sets into motion a series of timeless, standalone love stories that span galaxies—and are linked by their shared worlds and one mysterious enemy.

If you don’t know Amie, then let us tell you: she’s very talented, very hard-working, and quite possibly the nicest person on the face of the earth. Oh, and she’s Australian, so we’ve now got two kickbutt Aussies in our gang!

1. What was the biggest challenge in writing Wrecked?

I think most people expect it to have been collaborating, but my co-author Meg and I have been incredibly lucky in that respect—we slotted together seamlessly from day one. Wrecked just showed up like it was meant to be. But that doesn’t mean the writing was without its challenges, and numero uno was getting my butt in the chair. I mean, seriously, all that social media, and I made the mistake of starting a seven season How I Met Your Mother marathon while we were writing. The world is a big, distracting, shiny place when you’re trying to get down to business with your laptop!

2. Oh too true—distraction and shininess everywhere… Now tell us a little bit about your journey to publication.

I’ve played around with words for years, but it was only for NaNoWriMo 2009 that I decided to sit down and actually try and write a book. And hey, it worked! At the end of November I had a huuuuuge mess, but it was vaguely recognisable as a YA fantasy with a beginning, a middle and an end! (That was about all you could say for it.)

I didn’t start querying until 2011, and then everything happened in a whirlwind! I thought it was meant to take forever, so I sent out my first batch just before I went on holiday. I thought it would take my mind off things! One crazy week later I had half a dozen full requests, and a couple of weeks after that I was emailing back and forth and signing with my amazing agent Tracey, from my holiday in Madrid! After that, Meg and I settled down to finish up WRECKED. It went out on submission, and three weeks later sold at auction to Disney-Hyperion.

3. Ha! I (Sooz) also did all my agent-snagging over holiday! Funny world… Speaking of funny worlds, if you were transported to the sci-fi landscape in Wrecked, which scene would you most want to re-enact?

Wow, tricky! Wrecked is the story of a shipwreck, so I don’t think I’m giving much away when I say Lilac and Tarver have a pretty hard time of it! I’m pretty outdoorsy, but that place is tough. I’ll have to say that the opening scenes, on board the Icarus, would probably suit me best. That ship is luxury itself. That, or there’s this one time when Tarver takes his shirt off…

Right now we’re finishing up revisions on Wrecked, and getting ready to plunge into book two, so that will take up most of my time. Our trilogy is comprised of three linked but standalone novels, so book two will see us introduced to two new protagonists. Right now we’re getting to know them by writing little vignettes, playing with new scenes, and generally delving into their lives. Although we each take primary responsibility for one character, we both need to know them inside and out.

5. Such a good point–coauthoring demands both authors know the characters well! I know you’re a very, VERY busy lady…so what’s a typical writing “day” (or hour… or spare second) look like for you?

I have a (very!) full time job that I love, so I’ve always had to make sacrifices to find my writing time. In first draft mode I write on the train to and from work (usually 800 – 1000 words a day, I type fast!) and I try and snatch a couple of hours about twice a week to just sit down and get to work. Sometimes that involves staying in when I’d love to go out, but it’s all about choices. I also grab spare minutes anywhere I can and scribble in a notebook, then transcribe later. When I’m revising I work every single day, and I’m pretty much in a cave. My amazing husband makes sure he throws food in through the study door every so often! I’m a creature to be feared first thing in the morning, so my best work definitely happens at night.

6. I’m definitely a fearful morning creature myself. 😉 Mix me a literary cocktail! What elements would you include in your ideal book?

Mix one part fantasy, one part action adventure and a dash of history. Add a hint of darkness, garnish with a handsome hero and stir with a kickass heroine. Serve in a champagne saucer in a faraway world. Let’s call it a Tall, Dark and Handsome.

About Sooz

Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. As a marine biologist, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor. She lives in the Midwestern US with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, newsletter, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Her Something Strange and Deadly series is now available from HarperTeen, and The Witchlands series will launch from Tor in January 2016.

Awesome, Amie! To be honest, I was actually surprised when you weren’t one of the new mystery members when the blog launched in January! Your writerly advice is fabulous, and your voice fits in so well here! One of my favourite books by an Australian author is Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody.

Why thank you so much! I love all things Carmody — have you read SCATTERLINGS? It’s a stand-alone and one of my all time favourites. And rumour has it we’re actually going to see an end to the Obernewtyn series, so fingers crossed! I saw her speak when I was in high school, and she was so inspiring to an aspiring writer!

Melina Marchetta is amazing — I remember when LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI came out. I was the same age as the protagonists, and it absolutely swept through Australia. I remember knowing even then that she was going to be huge internationally, and she certainly is now.

Oh, all the Melina Marchetta love. So rightly earned, too. I remember being nervous when I picked up SAVING FRANCESCA — what if it didn’t live up to the awesomeness of her first novel? But of course it did, because she’s amazing.

Ha, thanks Beth! You’re an unfailingly awesome cheerleader! I’ve heard a lot about I AM THE MESSENGER but I haven’t actually read it. THE BOOK THIEF had me in tears on the train, which is about as good a recommendation as you’ll find. I’d better add his others to my list!

New member – how fun! If Meg is a co-author, will she be joining too? I can’t imagine writing a whole book, but really, really can’t imagine writing one with another person. That’s just amazing! Thanks for the introduction 🙂

Writing with another person is awesome! You’ve always got someone right there to brainstorm with you! Right now Meg’s busy juggling both this trilogy and her own solo work, so I’m the rep for Team Wrecked!

Okay, that’s more than enough all-caps for one morning. I’m–obviously–really, really excited to have you join the Pub Crawl gang. There can honestly never be enough enthusiasm about books and writing, and you’ve got tons to add to our little blog!! <3 <3

Favorite book by an Aussie author? Well, THE BOOK THIEF is my favorite book of all-time, not just by an Aussie, so there’s that. Also really liked JELLICOE ROAD. I only hope some day I’m lucky enough to be able to travel to Australia!

Oh, I LOVED those books! I saw Garth Nix do a reading here in a local bookstore and we chatted to him about them afterwards. He’s amazing. My friend went all fangirl giggly! (I tried for stoic and mostly failed.)

You had me from “…when Tarver takes his shirt off…” 😀 But seriously, Wrecked sounds absolutely killer. I think you can tell a good book from its logline, and I’m thinking The Titanic meets Across the Universe is a pretty impressive logline! 🙂

Actually one of my favorite books by an Aussie is one you’re giving away – The Book Thief! That book kind of changed my life and gave me a HUGE kick in the butt in terms of writing. We studied it in a book club and wow… I was just amazed the entire time. That book was stunningly beautiful.

WRECKED looks like a really fun read! I love the idea of a trilogy where we get different love stories each time.

My favorite Austrailian book is nearly a tie between THE BOOK THIEF and JELLICOE ROAD–but I think Marchetta wins by a hair. THE BOOK THIEF was touching and creative, but JELLICOE ROAD just blew me away.

Oh goodness, I don’t pay enough attention as to where the authors of novels are coming from. :/ But a book that I did adore that I know is by an Australian-based author AND takes place in Australia is Stolen by Lucy Christopher. It’s actually hard to say that I loved the book, because the subject of the book was so awful. But while it was horrible, it was so engrossing at the same time – I had a hard time putting it down!

I must say, your book sounds lovely! I can’t wait to read it! And welcome to Pub Crawl – I look forward to reading more from you!

WRECKED sounds great! I’m just sad I have to wait until 2013 🙁 Another entry on my “TO BE READ, BUT NOT RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2013” list, which is growing at an astonishing pace considering we haven’t even hit March of 2012. My favorite book by an Australian author would be THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jaclyn Moriarty. She unravels her stories in the coolest ways, especially since they are told in correspondence, school papers, and personal entries. I must say I also adore Melina Marchetta’s books, having just reread SAVING FRANCESCA and read THE PIPER’S SON.

Congratulations, Amie! This is an awesome blog, and I really look forward to reading your posts. As for my favourite Aussie YA author… I guess it has to be SECRET SCRIBBLED NOTEBOOKS by Joanne Horniman. The writing is just exquisite.

I’m not entering, because I already have all the books, and would love for someone else to have the chance to read those great Aussie books.
Anyways, welcome, Aime! It’s awesome to see an Aussie writer make it! I look forward to seeing your book on the shelves. 🙂

Wrecked sounds awesome! I honestly have no idea what books I’ve read by Aussie authors. I’ve read a lot of books and don’t usually pay attention to where the authors are from, I’m even surprised to sometimes find out when a fave author lives in my area.

Ahhh! Congrats, Amie! I really, really, really love the sound of Wrecked. (should I add another “really” for emphasis?) My favorite novel by an Aussie author would have to be The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It is, quite simply, the best book I have ever read. It’s one of those books that I can’t even praise without feeling like I’m doing it an injustice with my description.

I actually haven’t read too many books by Aussie authors. I do have a ton on my wishlist that I want to read eventually, though! Of the books I have read, I’ve pretty much loved all of them. But I think my favorite is Eon by Alison Goodman. 🙂